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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23042536">the one in the kitchen at 3 am</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa_of_phaeacia/pseuds/nausicaa_of_phaeacia'>nausicaa_of_phaeacia</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Kitchen Series [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Coulson has left S.H.I.E.L.D., F/M, Fluff, I've definitely forgotten how to tag fic it's been too long, Post-Season/Series 05, kitchen, nothing happens</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:35:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>894</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23042536</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa_of_phaeacia/pseuds/nausicaa_of_phaeacia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Self-explanatory, I guess? There's Nutella.<br/>(Nothing happens, not really anyway, as always.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Phil Coulson/Skye | Daisy Johnson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Kitchen Series [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/202079</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Listen to my voice I'll guide us through the dark</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the one in the kitchen at 3 am</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So I met a lovely human for coffee today, and they write fanfiction - for a completely different fandom, but apparently, also with a preference for kitchens at night. I admittedly stole the 3 am Nutella from them.<br/>I haven't written fanfic in forever (in two years, is what I said today - it's not true, I've realized, but @ the squad: I'll have you know THAT'S HOW IT FEELS WHEN Y'ALL ARE NOT WRITING ;) -- so the kitchen idea made me so happy!<br/>(I have a lot of fic involving the kitchen &amp; will now probably add all of it to that Kitchen Series I started ages ago, indiscriminately.)</p><p>(... In case you ever read this, you'll know instantly who you are, and this is for you, lol.) :-)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He walks in on her just as she’s about to steal some Nutella from his jar with a large spoon.<br/>
At three in the morning.<br/>
„You’re in my kitchen.“<br/>
„<em>You</em> are in your kitchen.“<br/>
„... Well. Yeah.“<br/>
They last exactly two seconds before breaking out in laughter.</p><p>„Hi,“ she manages, trying to breathe.<br/>
„Hi.“<br/>
She’s about to say something, but she can’t stop giggling, inviting the crinkles around his eyes to appear. They are rare these days.<br/>
„Pray tell,“ Coulson says, smirking, waiting for her to catch her breath as he responsibly takes the chocolate spoon from her. Her jumper is white.<br/>
Finally, she puts the jar down, still smiling.<br/>
„You stole my spoon.“<br/>
„You stole my <em>Nutella</em>, lady.“<br/>
For a moment, she thinks they are going to start laughing again, but they just smile at each other like idiots instead.</p><p>Daisy knows he’s too patient to ask again, so she explains. How things have taken a really bad turn in December. How Mack had to go on medical leave in January. How she’s missed Coulson.<br/>
„You have?“<br/>
Busted.<br/>
No use denying it. She nods.<br/>
It makes him smile again, even more than before.<br/>
„Same here,“ he tries, and she’s just really <em>grateful</em>.</p><p>„So you didn’t come for the Nutella.“<br/>
That almost does it, she almost chuckles again.<br/>
„No, I – I wanted to ring your doorbell in the afternoon. You know, like a normal person. But I couldn’t get away sooner, Joey was –“<br/>
„Daisy. It’s fine. I wasn’t sleeping.“ A warm smile. She sort of notices only now that he’s wearing pyjama pants and a t-shirt. A really soft-looking t-shirt, too.<br/>
„I <em>swear</em> I wasn’t,“ he confirms again, since she’s kinda focused on what he’s wearing. She smiles, knowing better than to joke about it. He probably hasn’t slept more than four hours a night since he left S.H.I.E.L.D. around six months ago.</p><p>She falls kind of silent.<br/>
„How can I help?“<br/>
He’s never going to think about anything else, is he. Than helping her out.<br/>
It takes her a moment to reply. „I think I might be able to help <em>you</em> out,“ she says.<br/>
He gestures at one of the red plastic chairs, and she tells him the whole story. How basically, Banner and her have spent every day since trying to alter Howard Stark’s formula. How Banner had the brilliant idea of asking Shuri to offer her expertise.<br/>
Coulson doesn’t know what to say.<br/>
„I’m sorry,“ she says. „I didn’t mean to be so overwhelming.“<br/>
He swallows, not allowing himself to read too much into her offer. Even though, obviously, that’s exactly what he’s doing, he’s overthinking how much trouble Daisy has gone through for the formula. What that might imply. But he mustn’t hope.<br/>
„Can I think about it? Just ... until tomorrow morning?“<br/>
She has to tell herself not to overinterpret this. Surely Coulson is tired. Surely literal life-and-death decisions aren’t something to be made in the middle of the night. Obviously not. Great, Daisy, screwed it up again.<br/>
But he gives her a small smile, so the idea can’t have been that bad, can it?</p><p>Daisy successfully changes the subject to, as they say, Something Completely Different. It works well, as it always does with him. That’s the thing – it’s never awkward to talk to Coulson, not when it’s just the two of them anyway. There is a tiny pang in her chest as she realizes there’s no one else she can talk to like this.<br/>
Nevertheless, at one point, she produces a really huge yawn. A really infectious one, it turns out, because Coulson‘s just opened his mouth wide enough for the whole jar of Nutella to fit.<br/>
He giggles when she points it out.<br/>
„Maybe we should go to bed?,“ he offers.<br/>
Daisy nods. „I’ll take the couch.“<br/>
„No couch,“ he admits apologetically. „Had to throw it out. Moths.“<br/>
„I’m sorry, I –“<br/>
„You take the bed,“ he says, and it sounds both very decisive and very caring. She has to smile at that.</p><p>Until she realizes.<br/>
„Wait, where are you going to sleep?“<br/>
He doesn’t reply fast enough to be convincing. „Oh, I’ve got the chair next to the –“<br/>
„You’re coming to bed.“<br/>
A beat.<br/>
But Daisy shows him her sternest frown, and he can’t bring himself to resist.<br/>
„Yes, ma’am,“ he tries, and sure enough, she smirks at him.</p><p>Of course, they lie awake for hours. Pointless to pretend either of them has managed to fall asleep. Not after Daisy telling him about the possibility of a new formula to make all this go away, to give him back the life he’s always tried to have.<br/>
And not next to each other in bed.<br/>
Obviously, it’s not like they haven’t shared a sleeping space before, they have on countless missions, and under much less comfortable circumstances. But this is different. This is Coulson’s own bed, Coulson’s home. Which she has basically just broken into.</p><p>Apparently, he senses her tension, because she can feel him turn around towards her.<br/>
Without saying anything, he raises one arm, and she timidly crawls under it. He’s practically hugging her from behind now, radiating warmth, radiating this feeling of <em>things are gonna be fine</em>.<br/>
She can’t lose him.<br/>
„You <em>are</em> going to say yes, aren’t you?“<br/>
A small pause. But then she can hear him smile behind her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thaaaaaank you for reading this. I'm out of practice.</p><p>P.S. I never write more than 1000 words anymore, do I? :-)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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